Blue Spark
by FortunasFollower
Summary: Kagami, on vacation, watches a Seirin match with the GoM and sees again how amazing his "shadow" is. A 3-chapter story.
1. Chapter 1

**SUP!**

 **Follower here!**

 **And today I'm bringing you a new short story about an anime that I was rewatching a few days ago. I really liked the characters and I wanted to write something related to it. The problem is that I'm not really a basketball game, so I never really attempted to write anything.**

 **But then I started writing and, well, I got really happy with how it turned. I know it's not really accurate, but I think it's a nice little read to pass the time.**

 **Well, now that I (hopefully) lowered your expectations, here it is, chapter 1 of 3.**

 **AVANTI!**

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

It was a warm day.

A young man with red hair was walking alone, his headphones blasting hip-hop so loudly that even the people passing by him were able to perfectly hear the songs.

That young man's Taiga Kagami, and he's currently enjoying his vacation in Japan.

Right now, the boy was walking towards a group of people with quite different hair colors.

"Hey, Kagamicchi!", a blonde shouted.

"Damn, Kise, quit yelling!", one other guy, with dark blue hair said, smacking the blonde in the back.

"You're so mean, Aominecchi!", Kise whines, "he's finally back after one year!".

"Even so, you're too loud!".

"Hey, everyone!", the redhead greeted, enthusiastically, at the five people in front of him while taking off his headphones and pausing the music.

Kagami was standing next to the Generation of Miracles, a group of five absolute prodigies in the field of basketball.

All of them had already been scouted by great teams, from Japan or abroad. The general consensus was that it was a matter of time before they debuted in the NBA.

Midorima and Murasakibara only nodded at him, the latter while eating chips.

"Came to cheer Tetsuya on as well?", Akashi inquired, even though he already knew the answer.

"You bet!".

Today, a small cup was being held. A number of schools were invited, and alongside them, Seirin High.

"I'm so glad I'm on vacation! I really missed Japan. Too bad I couldn't watch the matches from yesterday".

"Well, you came back at just the right time. I'm sure Seirin will be over the moon with you here", Akashi states.

Kagami smiles.

"But you're still late. I ate most of my sweets already", Murasakibara complained.

"Sorry, I stopped for a one on one with a guy a few minutes ago and lost track of time", Kagami apologizes.

"Well, now that you're here, let's go inside", Midorima says.

"Lead the way".

They enter the venue.

This little tournament was being held on a public park. Since it was free, a relatively large crowd was present.

The games themselves would be played on an indoor court of a public gymnasium, with stands on the sides and on an upper floor.

The six chose to sit in the stands on the lower floor, opting to pick a place as close to the court as they could. Aomine leaves a chair vacant between him and Kise, who doesn't seem to mind.

There were all kinds of people entering the place. Old, young, wearing basketball or football jerseys...the public probably consisted of people who were on the park already or lived close by.

Not long after the stands were pretty much filled, a voice resounded from the speakers put around the gymnasium.

"And now, for the first game of the semi finals, I want everyone to give it up for Seirin High and Maitatsu High!", a feminine voice announced. Her voice seemed commanding, but at the same time it was pleasant to hear.

Both teams walk in, and everyone around whistles and claps, cheering.

Maitatsu's uniforms were quite simple: predominantly green with red lines along the sides. All the players seemed to be about the same height, with the exception of four of the starters, who were a bit taller.

One starter in particular, though, the one with the number 32 on his back, was shorter than even some players who were on the bench.

Seirin, on the other hand, was wearing their black uniforms for this. There were noticeably new players around, but none of them were in the starting five.

The Seirin starters consisted of Junpei Hyuga, who was the captain, Koki Furihata, Shinji Koganei, Izuki Shun and Rinnosuke Mitobe.

These were the only players who participated in the Winter Cup victory a year back that were available for the game today. Tsuchida and the others were not present due to prior commitments.

"Hey everyone!", Kagami yells, almost vaulting to the court. This action spurs a security guard to come and remember him about his position as an outsider.

Everyone from the Seirin team quickly looks towards the shout. Once they saw who it was, they greeted back.

Even the new first years were aware of who he was because of the constant video chatting he did with the team.

"So you really did show up, huh?", Riko says, smiling.

"How could I miss my teams game?", he smiles back.

It's then that Kagami notices something.

"Where's Kuroko? This time I'm sure he isn't around", he says, looking everywhere on the court for the short player.

"Momoi-chan needed help with something, so he stayed behind for a bit", the manager answers, exasperated.

"Momoi-chan?", Kagami inquired. He didn't remember the coach and the pink haired manager being in such good terms.

"Both of them got much closer with each other after our game with Jabberwock", Midorima explained.

"Oh, I see".

"But he's playing today, right?", Kise asked.

"Of course! I wouldn't dream of benching our ace!", she thumbs up, "now excuse me, we'll start the warm-up".

Kagami waves at her, but his face shows confusion.

 _Ace?_

"What, you don't think Tetsu got what it takes?", Aomine asks, jokingly, and Kagami realizes that he vocalized his thoughts.

"Course I do, but... isn't that the opposite of being a shadow?".

Aomine smiles.

"You're right. And that's why, after you left, Tetsu modified his play style".

Kagami looks down.

"He did, huh?".

"What's wrong, Kagamicchi?".

"I knew, when I left, that I had left a gap in our team. But I always thought, well, hoped is the proper term, that some first year was gonna fill that. Kuroko never said they were having troubles, so I thought everything had worked out".

Both of them had kept in touch, often discussing what happened on both their teams.

Kagami had often talked at length about his difficulties adjusting with his new team, but Kuroko never really talked about any problems. Sure, they lacked chemistry with the first years in the beginning, but that was only natural.

"Things weren't so smooth. Seirin was a wreck on their fist post Winter Cup official match, but since it wasn't against a particularly strong school, they managed to win".

"Kurokocchi realized that the team needed someone like you, so he's now filling your gap".

"Then who's doing his part?".

"Himself, of course. No one has the ability Tetsuya has with passing and vanishing, although Mayuzumi comes close", Akashi said.

The Rakuzan player had been a sure thing for Akashi, a new, upgraded model for Kuroko. But as the Winter Cup showed, one could never count Kuroko Tetsuya out.

"Wait", Kagami says, putting his hands up, "you're telling me that he's doing both the work of the shadow AND the light?", he almost yells.

"Yes", Midorima answers, simply.

"How does that even work? Wasn't being a shadow the only style he knew?".

"It's not being both per se", Akashi explains, "what Tetsuya did was make the game more fluid, working with every player on the court even more than before. When everyone else is the protagonist, he gets plenty of lights to obscure him".

"But that wouldn't work for long, though".

"That's why Daiki said that he was the light now as well. After some time, his misdirecting loses efficacy, and the opponents start to figure out that he's the one at the center of Seirin's attacks. So at that point he starts shooting and dribbling to completely gather their attention".

"Kind of like Misdirection Overflow, right"?.

"Right. And now his whole team is cloaked, albeit less strongly then before. The opponents get rash, start paying them more attention, and Tetsu vanishes again. When the trick isn't working anymore, he gets subbed, entering again after a quarter. It's very simple and with some solid flaws, but somehow it works", Aomine completes.

"Wouldn't doing all that be extremely tiring?", Kagami says, scratching his head.

"It is", Aomine nods, returning his attention to the court.

"But...how can he handle that? He didn't even last three quarters normally".

"Tetsu has grown. He trained like hell, and it payed off", the ace said, grinning proudly.

Kise smiles.

Murasakibara just kept eating, but eagerly watched the door for the time their fellow player entered.

Midorima didn't show any emotion, but his eyes seemed a little happier knowing about the number 11's evolution.

"Today, we can affirm that Kuroko Tetsuya is, undisputably, a Miracle", the Rakuzan captain said, smiling.

At seeing their reaction, Kagami went from befuddled to excited.

"Well, if that's the case, then I'm really glad that I will be seeing this today".

The match starts.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

First quarter was rough for Seirin.

The spiderweb strategy Hanamiya Makoto had implemented with Kirisaki Daiichi had stuck with the players in this team, and they were implementing it flawlessly.

Now, Kirisaki had changed their underhanded ways to favor only the cerebral, tactical part. But their dirty philosophy had made an impression on a lot of teams.

Seirin had went over plans to counter this, but they all mostly either involved Kuroko, which still hadn't arrived, or individual plays.

And individual plays were being squashed by their ace.

This school's ace was a first year called Maiko, who wore the number 32 on his back.

As dirty as the Uncrowned King, Maiko was the one making sure that Seirin didn't advance, and on the majority of their confrontations, Maitatsu won.

The boy didn't have any astonishing abilities, nor was much more gifted than anyone else on his team.

His only true gift was observation. He saw patterns really easily, and adjusted defense and offense accordingly.

While Hanamiya Makoto forced the opposite team to act the way he wanted, Maiko broke their strategies and plays, and then when their will was also broken, the game was his.

Basically, what he did was compensate his team's flaws by making the other team fail.

Right now, the score was 17 to 9 for Maitatsu, and the second quarter had just begun with both of the teams being wary of each other.

After opening some advantage, the team had closed itself tight, and so the possibility of cross court passing or even alley oops were all but nullified.

Kagami was very nervous.

"It sucks, doesn't it?", he hears a voice from his right say.

He just looks at Aomine, who's seeming bored out of his mind.

"Sucks to see them in trouble and not be able to go and help".

"Yeah", he says, feeling down.

"If it wasn't for Tetsu, I think not one of us here would even be in this place. The other final is just as boring, and this game is just of a low tier".

"Where is he, anyway?".

"From what Satsuki told me, they're finally arriving. Something about helping some old lady and his dog chasing some cat had them late".

"I still honestly think they were on a date", Kise quips.

"Kuroko on a date with Momoi?", Kagami laughs.

But no one else laughed.

"Well, they have gotten closer lately, but I don't think he would do that while his team is playing", Midorima considers.

"Wait, you guys are serious?".

"Tetsu has been hanging with us a lot. Mostly with me and Satsuki. Although he's still pretty much treating her as a friend, he's also been a little more forward, in his own way".

Kagami looks at Aomine with a straight face.

"I do not believe you. Like, not a word".

"We came here with Kuro-chin. He was the one who asked Sa-chin to go with him".

"And also, he started paying more attention to her. The other day, he took her to a clothing store she had wanted to go".

"For me, he was being stealthy and just wanted to see Momocchi in different outfits".

"Don't be stupid. He may be more assertive, but he's not at that stage yet".

"I don't believe anything you're saying, but at the same time I am amazed at the possibility of that being true".

"Guess you'll see for yourself during your vacation".

"HEY!", they hear a yell, turning their attention back on the court.

"Number 6 just elbowed Izuki! How is that not a foul?".

Riko Aida, Seirin's coach, was not happy at all. Her face was red and she was staring down the referee.

"Coach, I will have to ask to lower your voice. If you don't want to be sent off, I suggest you mind your tone", he started, "I did not see the foul, and neither did any of my assistants. Therefore, the game continues".

Riko grinds her teeth. She wanted to say SO MUCH to that guy, but her team was a priority. She had a lot on her plate as it was.

Different formations or marks could slow the other team down, but offense would be sacrificed for that, which was unthinkable.

Run and gun or individualistic approaches might balance the game, but it was too soon for that. She couldn't afford to let her best players get too tired that soon. High intensity meant high effort which caused a higher strain.

Also, a problem with run and gun is that, if done poorly, it can allow a counter from the adversary, which usually would result in more points for them.

So, to summarize, it was a glass cannon.

And on top of that...

'They play even dirtier than I had anticipated. If our players get hurt, then there's no way we'll win. Just how can we win this?'.

Even if they used the glass cannon strategy, the opponents were still making an effort to hurt Seirin players. If that strategy was dangerous before, with this information it became downright suicidal.

Kagami was nervous, squirming in his seat.

All the other star players beside him didn't seem to care much about the game, but were also carefully observing it.

"Akashi".

"Yes, Shintaro?".

"How would you disable this situation?".

"If I was the coach?".

"Yes".

"I wouldn't. They don't seem to have what it takes. Seirin did not do any substitutions, which implies that no one on the bench has what they need", he starts, "plus, Seirin is starting to slip. They have missed two easy passes that caused them four points. They're stumped".

"So, we reached the same conclusion then".

"Oh? And what conclusion is that?".

"That without Kuroko, they will lose".

Akashi smiles.

"Well, seems like we are more alike than I thought".

"Seems so", he gives a sly grin in response.

"Kuro-chin is here, though", the purple haired giant said, offhandedly.

"How would you know?", Kise asks, looking around for the Seirin ace.

"I can smell him".

"Yeah, right", Kise laughs, "good one".

"I'm serious".

"I'm not falling for that".

"But I'm not joking", Murasakibara complains, "he and Sa-chin are going to open that door right...now".

Sometimes in life, we are presented with what could only be described as the impossible. Little happenings that defy not only our expectations but reality itself.

Some call it fate.

Some call it the supernatural.

The fact remains that, at that exact moment, the door opened, and the silhouette of two people emerged from within.

"No way!", Kise shouts. The blonde had been skeptical, but to actually see the doors opening made him a believer.

Almost in slow motion, the silhouettes started to become more and more visible.

A boy and a girl. Blue and pink on their heads. Walking together.

But it was just a couple of children wearing colored caps.

"Tch, I timed it wrong", Murasakibara angrily whispers to himself.

"Satsuki texted you saying they were here and you tried to fool Kise, didn't you?", Aomine deduced.

"Yeah", he said, picking a chocolate bar from his bag and munching on it.

Both the Touou ace and Kagami laugh out loud.

"Murasakibaracchi! I'm taking a candy as compensation!", the blonde shouts, pissed off.

"Back off!", the giant shouts back, holding his bag in a vice grip.

"Compensation!", the blonde yells, managing to whisk away a small chocolate wafer and biting it down.

The purple haired man's eyes flare with rage, while the blonde only grins back at him in a mocking manner.

"Kise-chin...".

But before both of them started a fight, the door swung open again, and two other people entered through it.

One of them was a girl with pink hair and slender figure. She was wearing a green hoodie and pale blue jeans. Around her neck was a little gold necklace with the image of a dog's paw, but in a cartoonish version.

The other was a boy with blue hair and a Seirin uniform. He was wearing black wristbands and a necklace similar to the girl's, with the color being the only exception (his was silver). He stood taller than the girl by a few inches.

He took the necklace off and looked at her.

"Momoi-san, could you please take care of this while I play?", he asked, in a monotone voice.

She takes the necklace.

"Of course, Tetsu-kun! You better score a lot of points for me, okay?", she said, sticking out her tongue and going towards the stands.

The boy smiles and goes to his coach.

"Okay".

On the stands, a lot of guys were down after realizing the two were probably a couple.

The girl started to make her way to the vacant spots on the upper level, but Kise called called for her.

"Yo, Momocchi! Come sit with us!", the blonde all but shouted, pointing to the spot between him and Aomine.

"Oh, hi everyone, so that's where you were! And is that Kagamin? It's been so long!", she greeted them with a beautiful smile.

"Hey there, Momoi! How you've been?", he smiles at her.

"Very nice, thank you. How about you, enjoying America?".

"It's amazing! There are so many strong players there and...", he stops at seeing the objects on her neck and hand.

"And?".

"Those necklaces...".

"Oh, you like them? The silver one is Tetsu-kun's! I saw this when I was walking Nigou a few months ago, but didn't buy it because it was too expensive", she then looks up excitedly with an electric smile, "but then the most unbelievable thing happened! Tetsu-kun just called me one day and said he won a pair on a raffle!".

"He was giving me both of them but then I suggested he kept one. And now everyone knows we are close like that. I knocked that one out of the park, don't you agree?", she says, raising her head proudly.

'She still has no idea that Kurokocchi was the real genius here, does she?', Kise thinks to himself, sweatdropping.

Kagami, on the other hand, was remembering something about those pieces of jewelry.

'Raffle? Didn't he say that he bought them with the money he had been saving?'.

When Kagami first heard Kuroko say he had bought two identical necklaces, he didn't understand. Since the boy didn't explain further, he just let it go as some eccentricity of his.

They spent so much time together and Kagami still didn't know much about the boy. No one on Seirin did, actually.

Hell, even the people from Teiko weren't much ahead from him in that department.

But now, Kagami understood the situation.

"A back off sign, huh? Really, he's a crafty one alright", he says to himself.

'Guess they were really telling the truth earlier', he thinks to himself.

Unfortunately, he spoke a bit too loud.

Momoi inquisitively angles her head.

"Huh? What do you mean?", she says, while putting Kuroko's necklace around her neck as well.

"Nothing, the sun must have fried whatever neurons he had left", Aomine interrupts, "and sit down already, you're blocking the game".

"You're mean, Dai-chan!", she says huffing.

Aomine ignores her and pointedly looks at Kagami.

The man with dark blue hair says nothing, but his eyes convey the message to him precisely.

 _Shut up_.

Kagami didn't expect Momoi to hear him, so Aomine had really saved him with the misdirecting.

With another meaningful stare, he responds.

 _Sorry, and thanks_.

The player from Touou merely gruffs in acknowledgement.

On the court, the blue haired boy gets slapped in the face so hard that he almost spins on the spot.

"WHERE WERE YOU?", Riko shouts, enraged.

"There was a elderly woman needing help, and also Nigou took off chasing a cat and then we had to take a taxi here", the boy explains, holding his cheek. A red imprint was very much visible on it.

His manager sighs.

"I know you did the right thing, but please try not to scare us so much. We are in the middle of a game, for goodness sake".

He gets serious.

"How is it?".

Riko sighs again.

"Bad. They have control of the game, and their number 32 is troublesome. Frankly, we need you if we want to win".

"I see. Well, let's not waste anymore time then".

She smiles.

A minute later, the stadiums sound system announces a change.

"Substitution for Seirin High: Rinnosuke Mitobe goes off for the entry of Tetsuya Kuroko".

Akashi smiles and looks at Midorima.

"Now, let's see if our deduction was correct".


	2. Chapter 2

**SUP!**

 **Follower here!**

 **This is the second chapter of Blue Spark! I hope you enjoyed the first one, and if you didn't, I hope you enjoy this one at least. We'll work from there.**

 **As always, reviews are always appreciated, as I want to know your opinions. Plus, I like to think that I will learn from my mistakes, so maybe, if someday I rewrite this story, I can then write something you'll enjoy more.**

 **Also, I'd like to thank everyone who favorited and followed the story. I have written a lot of stuff over time, but every time I see those notifications I can't help but smile. It's always such a pleasure to see that someone enjoyed what you wrote.**

 **I'd keep gushing, but I think I've rambled too much already.**

 **Soooo, here's chapter 2 out of 3!**

 **AVANTI!**

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The second quarter was wildly different from the first.

With the pass specialist in the court, Seirin had managed to close the gap and pressure their opponents.

Though the marking was tight and the strategy solid, Maitatsu consisted of only one really talented player who could keep up with Kuroko, the number 32 Maiko. So all the blue haired boy had to do was to pass outside his reach.

See, Maiko was a really observant person, but Kuroko was someone not even Kise or Momoi could predict.

The moment his passes started to be figured out, Kuroko just started independently changing the passes from his other teammates, like he did against Hanamiya.

Basically, by merely being on the court, he broke Maiko's schemes apart.

By the end of the second quarter, Seirin had managed to put a four point difference, and Riko had relaxed a bit after seeing that.

 **STANDS**

"Wow", Kagami says, "sometimes I forget Kuroko is that good".

Kise grins.

"He doesn't seem like much, but he was the one who was the most troublesome for all of us Miracles".

"And from what I've seen, his training has helped him a lot".

Kuroko, having decided to be the ace of Seirin, started pushing himself more and more to be able to help the team.

Besides his usual training, he had started gaining muscle mass and bettered his stamina.

He wasn't at all bulky, nor as athletic as his Teiko companions, but he had successfully gotten much stronger, to the point that he now did not need the habitual rest between the games as much.

He still had trouble defending, and his offense also still consisted of tricks rather than sheer physical force.

Having his already amazing passes bettered, he now also actively helped in the offensive and defensive part, which was one reason as to why Seirin had caught up so much in this game.

But, because he now actively helped with every function in the court, that meant that their attack was slower.

Basically, while sacrificing a bit of offensive power, he had gained a more all rounder style.

Riko was more than happy with that.

When they lost Kagami and Kyoshi, Seirin became undeniably weaker. They lost two great players who helped out in every aspect.

Kuroko more or less filled in that gap, in principle.

It wasn't perfect, but it was working so far.

"Tetsu-kun has been able to handle the new pressure of being the ace", Momoi said, eyes glued to the match, "but Seirin didn't play against many strong schools since he put it upon himself to do this".

"That's why this match was important. The other semifinal is between two prefectural teams which none of those two should have any problems playing against".

"But in this, we'll finally see how this new scheme works against a tactically adjusted team".

"So far so good", Kise said, smiling.

"Not quite...", Akashi countered.

"Why?".

"There's too much hanging on Tetsuya. He's their hope for attack, defense and overall plays. If he's on an off day, or if he's not 100% then Seirin will lose too much".

"Although they are a team oriented at group plays, he is the one who makes these plays a reality. Playing without him, although not crippling the team, really diminishes their strength".

"And that's why I hate the idea of Tetsu-kun playing this match".

"Yeah, I see that", Aomine agrees.

Kuroko was the center of it all.

So it was a really bad matchup to have their game against a team who took pride in injuring any troublesome players.

Maitatsu, for this reason, had gained the nickname _Skill Reapers_.

"Couldn't they have passed on this?", the pink haired manager grumbles.

"You heard Tetsu when he said that he needed to play exactly because of your concerns. He wants to see for himself if he can win with this new style or if there are more modifications needed".

"Still hate it, though".

Aomine kept silent at this, only nodding his head.

 **COURT**

The second quarter was on it's final minute, and Maitatsu was trying to diminish Seirin's lead a bit before it ended.

Maiko was just outside the 3 point area, with Kuroko marking him.

"Get off!", he said.

"I can't allow you to score here", Kuroko answered, his voice the usual monotone, albeit a bit strained due to the effort he was putting in.

Maiko smiles deviously.

"Well, I tried playing nice, but if you don't want that...", he says, turning his body right to try and escape his marker.

Kuroko moves to stop him, but a sharp pain in his stomach keeps him from moving, and he falls down.

Maiko scores just as the buzzer sounds.

"Oi! Number 32 just elbowed our player! How was that not a foul?", Hyuga questions the referee.

"I will repeat what I said to your coach: mind your tone. We did not see this elbow, so we can't fault him for that".

"...all I ask is for you to watch closely. They are choosing the time when you all aren't looking to foul us".

The referee only nods, but Hyuga knew that he didn't really mean it.

An official competition was one thing. But this small municipal events often didn't try to get official referees. It was a unnecessary cost for the organizing.

It was much cheaper to either call someone they knew, maybe a friend or a family member, or to sign with a small company.

As it happens in every job, there are those who take it seriously and those who do not.

For Seirin's misfortune, this particular team of referee's didn't care very much about this event, thinking of it as just a small gathering or a run of the mill friendly match.

For the team's even worse misfortune, their opponents really wanted to win this game.

Just imagine the publicity they would gain. A small club from a small school comes back victorious against a Winter Cup winner.

On his way back from the hoop, Maiko bent down to Kuroko and whispered something.

"Look forward to the next quarter. It's only gonna get worse".

Kuroko looked back with defiance at him, a serious expression on his face.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The third quarter had started, and Maiko had made sure of his promise.

Elbows, stomps, being pushed, kneed...the blue haired boy was suffering.

His passes had become a little less precise, and some were being intercepted.

Maitatsu was now reaching Seirin, who was still winning by 61 to 54.

At the stands, a particular group of people were not happy.

"Are this assholes blind?!", Kagami all but shouted.

"Kurokocchi is being hunted in there!", Kise shouts as well, looking murderously at the referee.

All of them had enraged faces, but perhaps the one with most bloodlust was, surprisingly, Aomine.

"Those cheap bastards, I want to beat each of them up", he said, cracking his fingers.

Kuroko was Aomine's best friend for quite a while, and although they had stranded from some time, the boy never gave up on him.

Even after being a jackass to him, Kuroko still went out of his way to build a healthy relationship with him again.

Aomine could honestly say they had become friends again, and he also honestly thought that Tetsu was, ironically, the one to show him the light.

So to see him get hurt so much and to be able to do nothing about it was pissing him off.

"Don't worry, Dai-chan", Satsuki said, a hateful glare at number 32, "I'll make sure to schedule a game against them".

Aomine smiles in a predatorial like manner.

"Make it fast".

"But wouldn't they hurt you too?", Kagami asks.

Aomine scoffs.

"We at Touou aren't as good guys as Seirin. And after everyone hears what they've done to Tetsu, I'm sure they will want this match too".

"How can you be sure, Aominecchi?".

"On the weekends, our basketball club practices in a park by my house, and he has been coming to train with us. He's been helping everyone out and they are doing the same", Aomine smiles more softly, "he's been pretty much accepted as a member of our club at this point".

"That's just like Kuro-chin", Murasakibara said.

On their game against Jabberwock, Kuroko had vowed that Vorpal Swords would win after Jason Silver injured the Yosen student. After that, they had become more friendly with each other.

They actually did get along fine normally, but their completely contrasting views on basketball had always been a complicated topic.

Akashi saw this with a smile.

The good atmosphere was broken by a cry from Kuroko.

One of their players had all but tackled the young man, who fell down.

"Charging. Yellow, 6", the referee said

"Oh come on! He didn't charge, he bulldozed him!", Kise again shouts.

"Why isn't he being sent off?", Midorima says, raising his voice.

Kuroko got up slowly, using his knees as support.

His teammates go to him.

"You okay, Kuroko?", Furihata asks.

"Yes, thank you for asking", the boy responds with a smile.

"Don't you think it'd be better if you went out for a bit?", Izuki asks.

"Wouldn't matter. The moment I came in they would start this again".

"Then isn't it better for you to not play at all?", Koganei suggests.

"Then they would injure you".

"At least you'd breath a bit", Hyuga points.

"There's no need for that".

Seirin's captain sighs.

"I swear, sometimes I see so much of Kyoshi in you".

Kuroko smiles.

"Thank you".

"I didn't mean it as a praise!".

The match continues again, and Kuroko is hunted even more.

The buzzer sounds.

Maitatsu is just two points away from Seirin at this point. Their hunting had paid off.

Maiko makes sure to bump into Kuroko's shoulder when going to his bench.

The blue haired boy glares at him, but goes to his bench to listen to Riko's instructions.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Seirin's coach starts to talk, breathing deeply.

"Look, the way things are going, I'll have to bench you, Kuroko", she says looking at the boy, and knowing exactly what reaction that would entice.

"No!", he all but yells, earning surprised glances from all the first years, "I can take it! I can pull us back to a bigger lead!".

"That's not my concern", she says, narrowing her eyes, "I don't want to make you into bait or a sandbag. If I allow you to continue, then it's only gonna mean more bruises".

"I don't care about those".

"But we do".

The boy hangs his head.

"So please just leave it to us, ok?".

A moment of agonizing silence passes until Kuroko finally answers.

"I can't".

"Why?".

"I'm Seirin's ace. I'm the one who should always push us to victory. Like Kyoshi. Like Kagami. I can't watch the game from the safety of the bench. That would be cowardice".

"No one thinks that".

"I do. And if I choose the bench, then I will lose the ideological bout as well as the physical".

Riko stayed silent.

All the new players looked at Kuroko with new eyes.

For them, the boy had only wanted to fill a spot that was left vacant. To be the one who shoulders their weights.

But he was taking this personally.

Kuroko breathed basketball. He made sure to do all he could to make each of his friends remember how much they also loved the game.

For everyone else, he was biting way more than he could chew. For him, he hadn't even started.

This was a practice game. The trophy didn't mean much. It was something akin to a game during PE.

But not for Kuroko. All games were serious for him. For he carried too much on his back to dare be complacent.

Riko looks at him.

"Fine. I'll let you in. But the moment I see that you can't go on, I'm subbing you off immediately, am I clear?".

He smiles.

"Yes".

"Now let's talk strategy...".

-/-/-/-/-/-

It was two minutes into the last quarter when Kuroko received a heavy foul.

During an aerial bout to see who was gonna win possession, a member of Maitatsu, number 6, had taken advantage of his falling momentum and hit Kuroko on his right shoulder. Hard.

The boy gasped and his vision became blurry for a bit, but immediately ran forward to provide support.

Koganei passed to him, who quickly sent it to Hyuga score a three pointer. His pass, however, wasn't good, and Hyuga had to backtrack to catch it and then dribble a player in front of him.

Seirin had scored, but at a price.

The boy was feeling a great pain, and each time he received a pass, he flinched.

He preferred to use his other arm to pass and shoot then.

But another charge had injured his other shoulder.

Kuroko was pretty much playing out of sheer determination at this point, but that wouldn't be enough.

Riko said she was subbing him if he couldn't go on, and he was very nearly there.

"How does it feel? Do you perhaps need another slam to drive home the point that you lot won't win?", Maiko said gleefully, but with an evident edge on his voice.

"We'll win. And then we will proudly display the trophy you weren't good enough to deserve", he answered in kind.

The boy gritted his teeth at this response, but let it go for now.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Six minutes left.

Seirin was two points behind.

Maitatsu had taken advantage of the fact that Kuroko was visibly worse for wear and attacked more.

Riko had enough.

"Kuroko, I'm subbing you", she said, when he was near her.

"No, please! It's already in the last quarter!", he pleaded.

"You're barely standing! I can see all the bruises on your arms and legs! If winning means sacrificing you, then it isn't worth it!", she says, her eyes seeming close to crying.

She was watching her player, her friend, be beaten up. She was watching someone who loved everyone on court so much that he would shoulder all their wounds.

Kuroko might have grown, sure, but he still had a rather normal build. He didn't have the muscles Kyoshi had. He was running on determination alone.

Plus, his stamina got better, but under no normal conditions would the boy be on for 3 straight quarters. There's only so much progress someone could make in a year. Riko had no doubt that, other than the inflicted pain, his own body pain was also taking it's toll.

The blue haired player grits his teeth.

"Please, give me one more chance. Let me prove that I can finish this game".

She looks at him impassively.

"Please, coach", he begs.

Riko thought about it.

She hated this idea. There was nothing to win from it. The only logical conclusion to this was that Kuroko would give his all and overexert himself. If he weren't further injured.

'Really, how blind can those guys be?', she thought, looking at the referee and assistants.

No, there weren't any motives why she should say yes to this.

But if she did bench him now, than she was sure he would be even more crushed than if they were to just lose.

Being a coach means that you have to take care of your players in every way you can. You better them. You work with them. You grow with them.

And because of that, Riko gave perhaps the most illogical response of her life.

"Ok", she started, "you have the next attack to show me why you should stay. Make it count, there will be no second chances".

The boy smiles.

"Thank you".

"Yeah, yeah, just go equalize the game already", she says, waving him off with her hand.

Kuroko goes.

Seirin had pretty much sieged Maitatsu. All passes were being made without the opponents being able to react, with Kuroko misdirecting attention and changing the balls route.

Izuki had passed to Kuroko, and he saw Furihata completely free.

The ace's eyes focused on the player.

'There'.

Kuroko twisted his body to receive the pass, and after he did, he started making the motion to pass again, before anyone could intercept him.

But it wasn't to be.

Before the ball left his hand, a vicious elbow in his ribs made him lose balance, and his pass was way off it's intended direction.

Maitatsu had the ball.

"Fast break!", one of them shouted, but the blue haired boy didn't hear him.

It was all slow motion for Kuroko.

He couldn't hear a thing. It was like all sounds turned off, and all he could hear was his own heartbeat and respiration, both fast and irregular.

He turned his head slightly, and saw lots of things happening at once.

He saw his teammates run.

'No'.

He saw his opponents advance.

'Why?'.

He saw Riko hang her head and advance to start telling one of the subs what he would do in Kuroko's place.

'I can still go on!'.

He saw the score. A two point difference.

'I can still...'.

He saw Maiko grinning, as if he knew he had won.

His mind went blank.

'I...I can't lose here. I won't have it!'.

He grits his teeth.

And then...

Kuroko saw a door opening to him.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"Fast break!", number 6 had yelled.

Maitatsu had gained possession and started a counterattack.

Seirin had immediately went back, save for the blue haired boy, who had stood planted to the spot.

Maiko grinned at him and continued walking, at a relaxed pace.

'This game is ours. The only problem was the blue haired kid, but it looks like he won't be an annoyance anymore. Their manager is even talking to someone to sub him out'.

Seirin had no more tricks up their sleeve.

It was Maitatsu's victory.

Number 6 passed to him.

He readied himself to receive the ball.

It never came.

A blue blur appeared, caught the pass and immediately ran towards the other side of the court, scoring.

The run wasn't really fast, but the shock factor of the steal helped him gain a few meters before the other team started going after him.

Maiko, spooked, looked at the other team's ace, but the boy's hair was covering his eyes.

The game was now tied.

Maitatsu quickly took to the offense to try to score and take the lead again.

Maiko dribbled past Hyuga.

"Too easy", he smiles.

A hand slaps the ball forward, and when Maiko finally gets over his shock, he turns and sees a blue and black blur passing for another player to score.

Seirin's captain seems surprised at this turn of events as well but gathers his bearings quickly.

"Nice, Furi! Great pass, Kuroko!", Hyuga praises, and immediately looks at the blue haired player, thinking.

'When did he get behind me? Also, how did Kuroko know which side I'd turn to?'.

Seirin now is in the lead, with a two point difference.

This time Maiko notices the boy's face when going back, and it unnerves him.

There's not a trace of anything on his expression. Anger, pain, happiness, eagerness...nothing.

He looks completely and utterly focused.

Oddly, expressionless as he may be, Maiko definitely saw a spark in his eyes.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Wait, what?", Kise gasps.

"You're kidding me...", Kagami didn't seem to believe either.

"Don't tell me...", Midorima says, shocked.

"So you finally did it, huh?", Aomine smiles, this time anxiously.

Akashi and Murasakibara only watch, eyes widened in surprise.

"He's in. Tetsu is in the Zone".


	3. Chapter 3

**SUP!**

 **Follower here!**

 **And today, we arrive at the last chapter of this story!**

 **I'd like to thank each and every one of you! Those who read, those who favorited, followed, reviewed...it amazes me that there's so many people that I can reach, and it leaves me speechless that there were people who, out of everything on this site, chose to give my little story a try.**

 **I can't ever thank you guys enough!**

 **If you like, I have written other stories on different themes, so maybe there's something else I did that you may enjoy!**

 **Now that I made my little shameless plug, it's past time I started this.**

 **Here goes: chapter 3 out of 3!**

 **AVANTI!**

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

"I can't believe Tetsu-kun is in the zone! I thought he didn't have the physical aspect needed for it", Momoi says, with one of her hands holding the silver necklace on her neck tightly, "his physical stats are much higher than they were at the Winter Cup last year, but even so...".

She had been holding it for a while, hoping that sent him some strength.

Cheesy, she knew. But if it worked, then Momoi didn't care.

"A year ago, he didn't. But now...", Midorima says, sitting now on the edge of his seat.

"After all the training, combined with his growth, it appears that Kuroko got at least the minimal specs needed".

"Now, let's see just how his zone is", Akashi says, with an anxious smile.

 **ON THE COURT**

"Kuroko, are you...", Riko asked, after seeing the boy's change in posture.

"I believe so. Please let's take this opportunity to open a comfortable margin. I do not know how much this will last".

"Of course! But before that, how are you feeling? Is the exertion of the zone making the pain worse?".

"It's actually the contrary. I believe the adrenaline and focus is numbing it, so I don't feel it too much".

"Numbing, huh? Then take extra care. When it fades, you'll feel the full brunt of it, so it better not have any more accumulated".

"I'll do what I can".

"It's all I can ask", she says, and then opens a determined smile, "now go show them what Seirin's ace is capable of".

Kuroko nods back, and if you were to look closely, you'd see the faintest of smiles on his face.

On the other side, all players were looking at the blue haired boy cautiously now.

They've seen just what the zone could do, how someone turned unstoppable when in it.

"This is bad".

"Seirin is gonna take advantage of him now".

Maiko glared.

"Then we cut him off, immediately", he growls.

"Yes!".

"Good, now let's get this going. Remember, he's our primary target, but Hyuga and Izuki are still important marks".

"Roger!".

"Ok then, let's go".

Maiko advanced until he was in front of Izumi. Glancing at Kuroko, he deemed a sideways pass as a safe move and passed to number 6.

He dribbled past Hyuga again and advanced towards the hoop.

Well, he would have, had Kuroko not taken the ball and ran with it.

"W-when...?", Hyuga asked himself, looking at the blue haired boy. That made it two times that he read the captains movements precisely and stopped the opponents attack.

'He's faster!', Maiko thinks, suddenly smiling, 'but not fast enough to outspeed us'.

The boy successfully passed Kuroko and prepared to take him on, but when he looked at the blue haired player, there wasn't a basketball with him.

He barely managed to grasp the sound of a hoop being made behind him.

He turns, and sees Koganei descending after scoring.

'When...?'.

Both got back, and Maiko notes that he isn't the only one surprised.

Even Seirin seems shocked.

'Kuroko timed that impossibly well', Riko thought, 'and he also didn't look back to know who was accompanying him. How did he know it was Koganei?'

Another attempt, this time initiated by Maitatsu's number 19, was stopped by Seirin's 11, who advanced just like on the previous point to the hoop.

The opponent again tried to guard him, and the moment he saw the ace looking to his right with no basketball on his hands, he immediately turned to that direction.

He found no one there.

The only sound he heard was the sound of someone jumping on his left.

And again, the sound of a successful try resounds from the hoop.

Seirin was now seven points ahead.

'Just what is going on?'.

 **STANDS**

"Midorimacchi...".

"Yes?".

"He's...even more aware than normal, isn't he?".

Midorima only nodded.

Kuroko was being really simple, but doing it expertly.

"At the exact moment his opponent starts making the motion to turn and guard him, he's pretty much already releasing the ball".

"And the ball is being always thrown to the side opposite of the one the defendant is turning. Even more, he's looking at the opposite direction for where he's looking, so even if the markers natural reflexes kicked in, he would instinctively look at the wrong place".

"That way, there is no possible way to react on time".

"Kurokocchi is smart!", Kise says, stars in his eyes.

"But still, his passes are weird", the Yosen student remarks.

"What do you mean, Mu-kun?".

"He is passing the ball perfectly, but he didn't, once, look at his surroundings. For Koganei, it was a simple diagonal pass, but for Hyuga, he threw it to the side, on the three point line, exactly were he would be", the Shutoku ace explained.

"So? He deaccelerates before passing, so he's probably using that moment to do so".

"No, the moment he stops, he's already making the passing motion. He stops primarily to tune his pass and, secondarily, to confuse the opposition".

Kagami looks at the boy in question.

"But then how does he know?".

 **COURT**

"Kuroko, how are you making this passes, we hadn't even asked for them!", Hyuga asks, bewildered.

He wasn't complaining at all, but seeing Kuroko make those perfect passes without any explanation confused him, and THAT pissed him off.

"I can hear your footsteps. Since all of the team's footsteps sound different, it's fairly easy to know who's who".

"You're...doing this by sound? Did the zone gave you a sonar or something?".

"It's nothing much. When you get to know people better, you start noticing things. I always tried to know as much as possible about your styles, so this is just because of one of my habits".

"The way you step, the time it takes and the sound you do is different than anyone else's. And that is also true for everyone else in this court. If I know who's advancing, where they are, their markers and their speed, then I can predict where you'll be, without needing to look".

"And when you stole the ball after that guy dribbled past me...".

"I read your movements, and picked the opposite side in case you missed".

'Like he did against Rakuzan, huh?', Hyuga pieced it together.

"Sounds like your Quasi Emperor Eye got an upgrade, huh? Though at this point it's more of an Emperor Ear", Izuki jokes.

Kuroko smiles.

"Now, please continue to help me".

"You got it!", both of them said, with a serious expression.

Maitatsu went to the offense again, but because of a steal from Furihata, Kuroko was again approaching their basket.

This time, both Seirin members who accompanied Kuroko were marked.

'Heh', Maiko thought, 'no more passing for them. The moment he passes...the ball is ours'.

The number 32 was very satisfied with his plan.

But he miscalculated.

When Maiko looked at Kuroko, he was at a weird form, as if he would push the ball upwards with his palms.

'What is he...', he starts thinking before arriving at the answer and widening his eyes.

"No!", he yells, trying to block.

But the ball seemed to vanish just as he would touch it.

Kuroko turns before the ball even arches and walks back.

Three pointer.

Kuroko runs back, and Maiko fumes.

 **STANDS**

"Good luck to those guys now. Tetsu got them on the ropes", Aomine says, "people just don't learn that you should never piss him off".

"Right? I mean, in the zone, we get more perceptive, but to know people based on their steps...amazing".

What Kuroko was doing was a bit more than just hearing.

Sure, he was using the data he had on his teammates to accurately pinpoint a pass without giving the adversary any idea of it.

But it didn't stop there.

There were two more things he was doing. Both very simple, but at the same time very important.

First, he was observing the opponents patterns.

Maitatsu was tense, so it made sense to rely more than ever on their star player. More plays were being started or devised by Maiko, so Kuroko made sure to steal the ball from him first. The second was just to bring the point home.

Now, they were more cautious about passing to him, and when nervous players tried forced plays, it always had a big chance to fail.

Which meant that their attack power was weakened.

Second, he was intimidating them.

It may sound weird, the smallest guy on the court intimidating everyone else.

But that was what was happening. Kuroko made sure to pass the first two times instead of shooting, so that Maitatsu had to accompany them.

That gave them false security, thinking that, when they had managed to mark the players he was supposedly gonna pass for, they had also closed the ace off.

But then he scored a three pointer, and that went away.

More so, he turned before it even entered. He knew he had scored, and when he turned, so did the other team.

The _swish_ sound was just confirmation.

Kuroko didn't NEED to pass. He just wanted to.

Plus, with that basket, he successfully instilled the idea that he was dangerous.

So how do you stop someone you can't predict?

Kise picked up on that and on another important piece of information.

"He is copying us", he said, eyes widened.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Tetsu-kun is copying the Generation of Miracles?", Momoi asked, surprised.

"Yes, but not like you think", the GoM captain responded. Akashi seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

Murasakibara only nodded, having picked up on that as well.

"He's doing it tactically, not physically", Kise explained.

"What do you mean?", Kagami asked.

"When Kurokocchi intercepted and passed the ball, he wanted to disrupt the other teams concentration and focus. That's something Akashicchi does".

"And when Tetsuya turned before the ball entered, imitating Shintaro, he wanted to let them know that he won't miss and that he doesn't need to pass. And now they're at a loss as to what they can do".

"So, what you're saying is that he is copying your pressure instead of your moves?", Kagami asks, looking at them, "is that even possible?".

"It's not so different from what he is doing with his teammates. He knows them, so he knows where to pass. For his opponents, he is bluffing. He is letting them know that he sees through them as well, and that he won't be stopped", Akashi explained, and if you were to look closely, you'd see he was now much closer to the edge of his seat than he originally was.

"Tetsu-kun...", Momoi said, surprised. She knew of his mental strength, but to know he could play them like this...

What Kuroko did was take Maiko's style of play, analysis and strikes, and throw it against him, but in an upgraded form.

That threw both the opposing ace and his team off.

It's one thing to analyze something and reach a conclusion. It's another to be analyzed and try to find a way out. The moment you realize you're failing, you start to overthink, and if your opponent is more centered than you, that will almost always result in your defeat.

"You've seen nothing yet".

"What do you mean, Dai-chan?".

"Tetsu is in a state where every single one of his abilities are now better. Just wait till you see his new tricks", he said, again with a prideful smile.

 **COURT**

"Damn! I'll break that bastard!", Maiko fumed.

"But how? We're not even slowing him down!".

Maitatsu had continued their attacks on the number 11, but it didn't particularly seem to be having any effects.

The zone was acting like one hell of a sedative.

"I'm gonna directly confront him next time, I won't get in front of him".

Maitatsu starts another offense, and this time they score a three pointer.

Hyuga leads the attack, passing to Izuki.

He then passes to Kuroko, who was free.

'Succesfully baited!', Maiko cheers, a malicious smile on his lips.

He immediately gets in front of his opponent, negating any advances from the number 11.

Kuroko eyes Maiko, thinking.

Suddenly, while moving towards the number 32, he looks to his left side diagonally. Maiko starts to move to that direction, fists closed, but the blue haired boy vanishes from his sight.

"Wha-?".

Another basket, and Kuroko walks back.

"Vanishing Drive, huh? So that's how you do it...".

Another offensive, but this time Maiko stays behind.

Kuroko steals and runs, this time with the number 32 zeroing in on him.

Both teammates marked, so he had to advance or wait.

The blue haired boy eyes Maiko again, looks diagonally to his lower left this time, and moves.

But Maiko knows how to counter it now.

He quickly moves in the opposite direction of the one Kuroko looked at, seeing what looked like a pale blue streak, and prepares to smack the ball away.

He finds no one there.

Instead, a lone Kuroko dashes through his left side and passes to Hyuga, who scores a three pointer.

'How...?'.

Seirin was now twelve points ahead.

 **STANDS**

"Wait, did Kurokocchi just do a Vanishing Drive fake?".

"Kind of", Kagami says, offhandedly.

"...".

"...".

"Care to elaborate?".

"Tetsu-kun did the motion for the Vanishing Drive, but seeing as his opponent reacted correctly, he changed the side he was going for", Momoi explained, smiling.

"But how? The other guy smiled while turning, so he must have seen Kurokocchi!".

"Because he wanted him too".

It dawns on Kise.

"He ducked at a higher angle than normal, which meant that his opponent saw him. After he went to the right, he moved at a lower angle rapidly to the other side, _vanishing_ again".

"Yup", Momoi smiles.

Kise sighs.

"So, that means Kurokocchi has an even more troublesome fake now, huh?".

This time, it's Kagami who smiles.

"But how did he even manage to do the drive? I thought he directed the opponents eyes at Kagami and then moved".

"It's because of his play style. Tetsu doesn't score much, but he assists like crazy", Aomine starts.

"The moment he goes on the offensive, he makes sure everyone gets involved. If you were to watch some of Seirin's last games, you'd see the amount of points everyone else scored is pretty balanced. Only when certain strategies are at play they concentrate on a single player".

"Because of that, there's no need for a powerful player like Kagami on the court for the drive to work. Kuroko adjusted his drive to make everyone on his team a potential threat".

If possible, Kagami smiled even wider.

 **COURT**

"Next time...next time I'll get you", Maiko curses.

After a hoop from Maitatsu, Seirin goes to the offensive again, with the ball eventually reaching Kuroko.

Again, Maiko challenges him.

'This time I'll win!'.

Kuroko does the same thing again.

Eyes left. Body right. Blue flash.

This time Maiko goes left.

Again, he finds nothing.

Kuroko speeds and passes to Izuki, who scores.

 **STANDS**

"Tetsu-kun is in full control of the match now".

"Yeah. The other guy is spooked, so he immediately thought Tetsu went around him again and fell for the drive".

"Kuroko just has to observe him and it's game set and match", Midorima states.

"But, if the dude stays back a bit, doesn't that mean that he can nullify this technique?", Kise asks, remembering the flaw that Aomine found during the Winter Cup.

"No, it doesn't".

"Why?".

"You'll see now. I'm sure that Maiko guy has come to the same conclusion as you", Midorima said, "though I have no idea what Kuroko's plan for this situation is".

"Wait, then how are you so sure if you yourself doesn't know?".

"Kuroko is dictating the match. He surely has a backup plan for whatever he is about to pull. He wouldn't risk stop the intimidation with an unnecessary move".

 **COURT**

Seirin stole the ball and advanced, and once again Maiko tries stopping Kuroko.

This time, the moment Kuroko made a move to run forward, Maiko went backwards, attempting to stop his opponent.

But then Kuroko did something different.

He jumped back, and shot.

Three points.

Maitatsu attacked, and scored three points as well.

Another attack, and another direct confrontation between the two aces.

Again Maiko took a step back.

And again Kuroko jumped, but this time Maiko jumped with him.

He purposefully took a smaller step to make sure he could recover in time for a jump.

He thought his superior height, even if it was an inch or two, meant that he would win.

Kuroko shot. Maiko moved his hand to block it.

But somehow, the ball seemed to pass through his hand.

'This again?!'.

 _Swish_. Three points.

Maiko was dumfounded.

 **STANDS**

"Was that...", Kise begins.

"Muro-chin's...", Murasakibara continues.

"Mirage shot?", Kagami finishes.

"Yeah. Like I said before, Tetsu has been training shooting with me on the weekends, and a couple weeks ago he showed me that. Gotta say, I was really impressed with his version, I couldn't stop his shot the first time".

"Well, that explains his jump shot now".

A jump shot isn't, at all, a special technique for a player. It's a basic skill, one that everyone on Seirin had.

But seeing the guy who couldn't even shoot a year ago do that with such calm and control was really something.

"Interesting", Akashi said, curtly.

"It is a great technique for him to have. Merges well with his play style", Midorima analyses, "although it's still not as refined as Himuro's, it is indeed just as deadly".

"But when did he learn to shoot like that, though? His shot was still in that custom form of his".

"Tetsu says he's got better accuracy shooting with that weird form. He can shoot normally now, but he still prefers his first stance. Since using his form for a jump shot isn't ideal because of the extra movements he'd have to do and because it's got a low launch spot, which doesn't help with his already small stature, he just doesn't use jump shots that often, preferring to pass to Hyuga".

"Just how many tricks has Kuroko learned this past year?", Kagami wonders.

"Well, we won't have the time to see it today", Kise says, pointing to the timer.

 **COURT**

Another pass from Kuroko, and as the ball falls from Hyuga's shot, the buzzer sounds.

Three points. Valid.

Final score: Seirin 79 x 61 Maitatsu.

The teams bow to each other.

During the final handshakes, Maiko purposefully applies more pressure on his squeeze to try and hurt Kuroko.

The _phantom sixth man_ was not fazed.

The Maitatsu team goes home, with Maiko looking extremely pissed off.

The moment they leave, Kuroko looks at his teammates and raises a fist, and they all raise their fists in return.

The crowd erupts with cheers.

The ace smiles and sits down on the ground, trying to catch his breath.

Kuroko honestly doesn't remember having been this tired in a good while.

All of the sudden, a silhouette of someone appears in front of him.

The boy tries to see who it is, but the stadium lights seem to blind him.

"That was amazing, Kuroko!", the person says, and he immediately knows who it is.

"Kagami-kun? When did you arrive?", he asks, perplexed.

"Been here since the start, didn't you see us in the stands?".

"Sorry, I think I was too focused on the game".

"Well, it was garbage in the first quarter, but you managed to make the rest tolerable", another figure appears in front of him as well, and although the lights are in his way, this face is a bit more visible.

"I'm glad to hear that second part, Aomine-kun".

"Now get up, we're gonna go to a restaurant, I'm hungry as hell".

The two figures offer their hands, and the boy takes them, smiling.

He gets up and bumps fists with both.

"You have lots of new weapons, huh?", Midorima says, joining the conversation.

"Yeah, though I couldn't show all of them today".

"Why not?".

"Seirin will play against you guys soon. I can't have you knowing my new abilities without you showing me yours", he said seriously, looking at both the green and the dark blue haired players.

Midorima grins at that.

"You better be storing some good stuff, Tetsu, I want you going all out!", Aomine says, grinning.

"Of course. I have to tie our score".

"Tie?", Kagami asked.

"Seirin has played three practice matches against Touou in this last year. They won the first match, we won the second and then they won last time".

"In your dreams you'll win. That second match was a fluke".

"A fluke of a 10 point difference?".

"...shut up".

Everyone laughs.

"Hey Kurokocchi, how did you manage to do that Mirage Shot?".

"Yeah, Muro-chin didn't teach you that".

"Oh, I started trying it when I managed to consistently score with jump shots. Since I'm not really tall, I thought it might've been something useful to have".

"Oh man, and what about you copying us, that was amazing!", Kise continues, fired up from the match.

"I'm mostly intrigued about that as well", Akashi joins, a warm smile on his face.

"Well, I thought the best way to win was to make them doubt themselves. That way, they had to second guess everything, and they even stopped with the foul play a little".

"That was an amazing trick. Though I wanted to see how you would've copied everyone, not just me and Shintaro".

"Sorry, Akashi-kun, but some things I want to leave as a surprise".

Akashi smiles at this.

"I wouldn't have it any other way".

They keep talking for a bit, with Momoi looking at the scene with a radiant smile.

Even if this scene was so much more common, it was still something that made her really happy.

Everyone from Teiko together. With Kagami, Seirin, and all the other teams as friendly rivals.

Things were great.

Kuroko was enjoying the chat immensely, but then he felt a weird sensation, like something had _turned off_.

'Was I still in the zone?', he thinks to himself.

For the first time since entering it, he seems to notice his state.

He's completely sweaty, and everything seems to be a lot more heavy.

He tries, but can't lift his hands to a height above his elbows.

Every step seems like way too much work.

He finally realizes how tired he is.

"Hey, Kuroko, you alright?", Kagami asks, noticing the way his eyes seemed to be glazing.

He looks at his former teammate, not really seeing his face.

"I...", he tries, but he doesn't have the energy to talk.

He notices how much of his body is yelling in pain.

"I...I'm not sure", he manages to say, after breathing deeply.

He sees a bunch of colors: red, blue, purple, green, yellow, pink...

"Tetsu?", Aomine says, holding his shoulder.

Kuroko grits his teeth at that. That was the shoulder that player elbowed.

Everything seems to hurt. His heart rate is accelerated. His breathing is getting more and more ragged.

"I...", he tries to articulate what he's feeling, but this time it feels like he's slipping away.

And then, Kuroko passes out.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

He wakes up to a sweet scent and a comfortable feeling.

He can't see well yet, with his vision being blurry, but he sees strands of pink flowing in the space above him. Also, he feels a hand ruffling his hair.

"Momoi...san?", he asks, with a groggy voice.

"Oh, good afternoon, Tetsu-kun. Had a nice sleep?", the girl smiles at him, still playing with his hair.

"Where...?".

"Takao's cart. He lent it to us so we could take you back home".

"But we have another match today".

"It already happened, and you guys won. It was a bit more troublesome without you, but there weren't any scares".

Kuroko looks saddened to the sky.

"It was, huh?".

"Hey", she says, stopping her hands, "no feeling gloomy, mister. They didn't do their best for you to mope. And even more, who was the one who made it his quest to prove that everyone was the protagonist?"

Kuroko looks away, a bit embarrassed to have his logic thrown against him.

"I'm glad they won. I just wish I had helped out".

Momoi looks at him, her eyes showing how much she loved that caring trait of him.

"I know, but you will be all better by next week, so take it easy", she tries to lighten the mood.

"Next week?!", he says, jolting completely awake.

He tries to get up at that, but his arms and legs doesn't seem to have any energy in them.

Plus, both of his shoulders were so hurt that, even if he were to have the energy to stand, he wouldn't be able to.

Also, the pain makes itself known again.

He stifles a groan.

"But...the practice match against Touou is in three days!".

"Relax, we postponed it. Dai-chan wanted to make sure you'd play so that, to quote him, 'you couldn't say this one didn't count'", she said, imitating his gruff voice.

"Your impressions keep getting better and better, Momoi-san", Kuroko smiles at her, "sorry I didn't score much for you".

"You should be", she says, pouting, "honestly, I even took care of your necklace while you played".

Her hands go up to cradle the piece of jewelry, safely around her neck.

She had put Kuroko's on him when they entered the cart, thinking that it might 'give him strength' again.

Silly, she knew. But hey, when in love, silliness is very much appreciated.

"Sorry", he smiles sheepishly.

Momoi only grins on response.

Then he realizes something.

"Wait, what is my head lying on?".

"Oh, it's umm...on my lap", Momoi says, blushing.

To the pinkette's utter surprise, Kuroko blushes as well.

"Tetsu-kun, are you...b-blushing?", she asks, voice higher than usual.

The boy only tries to push his shirt up to hide his face. Since his arms weren't really functioning, Kuroko opted to look away again.

Something inside Momoi snaps.

"Tetsu-kuuuun!", she says, lowering herself to a lying position as well, hugging him tightly.

"I can't breathe, Momoi-san", he says, smiling at her through the pain.

She only snickers and burrows her head on his chest, a little softer, with a feeling of completeness in her.

And if he was gonna be honest with himself, Kuroko did feel more complete now as well.

They both stood there, lying. The two necklaces seemingly enlaced, as if they were seeking the other's company as well.

Kuroko looks up, watching the orange tint of sky, and he makes a commitment to himself.

He was going to need to keep getting better. Zone was not gonna be something he could count on a lot, if his present state was any proof.

But he would take it all on.

With his basketball.

-/-/-/-/-/-

In front of the cart, Koganei keeps pedalling, with only one thought passing by his mind.

'I want to enter the zone too...'.


End file.
